Lingohack

Intermediate level

3 May 2017

Episode 170503
/ 03 May 2017

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript.

Today's Headlines:

60% of world's primates at risk of extinction

Freedom for Korean dogs

Creating art in an instant

Transcript:

Our closest biological relatives - but while the human population continues to grow, most of our fellow primates are now sliding towards extinction. This international team of scientists trawled through the data on more than 500 primate species revealing a looming extinction crisis. They estimate that 60% of primate species are now threatened with extinction and 75% have populations that are in decline. Forest habitat that these animals rely on is being destroyed - primarily for agriculture and logging. Reversing these declines means looking closely at where we source products like timber, palm oil and meat.

Destined for the butcher's block until now. In cages in the bitter cold, excrement below, their lives would've been short, with a violent end. But now the dogs are going to new homes in North America and Britain. Eating dog is part of the culture of much of East Asia. But a western charity has persuaded the Korean farmer to close the farm. Instead of the plate, these two dogs are now heading for Britain. Will they be happy?

Most of us look at instant noodles as a quick meal, but one artist is turning them into… well, art. Cynthia Suwito knits noodles as a performance art piece for a gallery in Singapore. She says her work is a reflection on the modern world's obsession with instant gratification. It takes her three hours to knit a 20cm-long piece. Mmmm… that's what we could call having good taste in art!

Words and phrases and definitions:

trawled through thoroughly searched

persuaded convinced someone

obsession persistent preoccupation with something

Exercise:

Use one of the words or phrases from Lingohack to complete each of these sentences. Note that you may have to change the form of a word or phrase to complete the sentence correctly.

trawled through / persuaded / obsession

1. Joan hates sports, but her husband ______ her to play tennis with him because he thought she needed to exercise.

2. My cousin is ______ with social media. He doesn't do anything without posting a picture or comment on Facebook!

3. As the hours ticked by there was still no sign of the girls, so detectives ______ a list of violent criminals and paedophiles.

Answers:

1. Joan hates sports, but her husband persuaded her to play tennis with him because he thought she needed to exercise.

2. My cousin is obsessed with social media. He doesn't do anything without posting a picture or comment on Facebook!

3. As the hours ticked by there was still no sign of the girls, so detectives trawled through a list of violent criminals and paedophiles.